So day 2 of hurricane Sandy, got rear ended, driver of other car took off.

Left and Rear of vehicle sustained damage, did not recognize exaust talepipe was 90% closed from the hit. I know, I know, i feel stupid, but lots of stress, family lost a house, we had no electric, and my mind was somewhere else and wasn't thinking why i had loss of power (acceleration) in vehicle.

So i drove the car for 2 weeks, with the exhaust like this (see photo). Insurance of other party (people were caught), will pay for everything cosmetic and new exhaust - BUT could have caused long term damage to engine running the car on highway 60-70mph over 2 weeks like this? This is my first Subaru, i plan on keeping it another 8 years if i can, i love the car, but what is likelyhood of issues arising down the road?

Thanks for any thoughts or insight you can provide, this is a 2011 Outback 4cyl (premium).

Doubt it would cause any major damage running it like that short term. Engine heat being the biggest issue but you would have noticed that. We have had two cars in the family with plugged exhaust systems factory screw up oddly enough both were Fords. LOL - one ran lousy till we finally figured out what the issue was engine didn't seem to be bothered by it longer term. The other one was run for over 85,000 miles with a strange engine temp not hot but not normal either. It went to many dealers none of them could find anything wrong. Then one day our last effort to get it sorted some old grizzled shop rat says which engine is that? The 451 Windsor I bet you all $100 they put the wrong **** exhaust gasket in it at the plant and half the ports are blocked! **** of that old shop rat was right! Ran great for another 120,000 miles except the rest of the car was falling appart around the engine. LOL

actual 'area' of blockage shown may only be 50-60% and , unless you drive at WOT a lot, may not have been an issue at all, or only momentrarily. Plus, folks with clogged cat convs sometimes have no other problems than needing a new converter.

depending on the forces and direction involved, there could be 'hidden damage' to exhaust gaskets or even cracked manifolds I guess, but a good collision shop will know what to look for. You might consider searching Yelp or Angie's List to begin searching for a good shop.

I agree that you most likely haven't damaged anything, though your fuel economy was probably pretty dismal with the exhaust so restricted. You are lucky that you didn't need a burst of power - you could have ended up having an accident.

Here is an article on excessive back pressure. Read it and you will be reassured that all is well in your car. .... Exhaust Backpressure

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